He Killed his Friends Just Because He Could | The Life & Times of Basil the Macedonian
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
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Music (in order of appearance):
Kevin Macleod - Minima
Kevin Macleod - Hidden Past
Kevin Macleod - Fireflies and Stardust
Vodovoz Music Productions - Rise to the Occasion
VJ Visuals - Delightful 70s Rock Music
Ylvis - Massachusetts
Kevin Macleod - Ignosi
Kevin Macleod - Master of the Feast
Kevin Macleod - Plans in Motion
Kevin Macleod - A Singular Perversion
Crusader Kings II OST - Komnenos
Kevin Macleod - Midnight Tale
Banjoman80 covering Johnny Cash - Orange Blossom
Check out Empire Builders and 3,000 other documentaries, on the house: www.magellantv.com/jackrackam
Congrats to Noah Markey for guessing the subject of today's episode! I was surprised that everyone else seemed to be guessing Saint Basil rather than Basil II, but I suppose you all know me well enough to know I wouldn't give a hint that relates to the first person it makes you think of. If you want to get involved in the next episode, you can join the crew at patreon.com/jackrackam. A huge thank you to all my patrons for your continued support!
nice
10:08 Actually scared me the first time I saw.
I love the tie in the start where can I buy it?
@@leogremmer4519 I'm not sure, I'm not usually saving the source for my ties unfortunately
@@JackRackam You should it's is the best tie for Byzantium. I'm history too for the future Golo Mann is in my opinion one of the historian of the last century
"Seducing the pope wasn't an option"
Crusader Kings II: "Not with that attitude"
See shit like this makes me realize more and more the game is only I slight exaggeration to reality which is fucked up 😳
🤣
I keep my empire together by turning my vice roys gay.
@@cameronjohnson9361 There were definitely gay popes; theres even some popes who may have actually been ladies (or were trans men, hard to tell for sure).
So its not that farfetched to think Basil cud seduce the pope. I mean, if it had been one of the party popes then that plan may have actually been a possibility
"Seducing the pope wasn't an option"
"Not being that old anyway"
"If you want to get away with murder, you need the authority to call it an execution."
Jack Rackam, 2021
Literally 1984
@@maga6403 Saying 1984 to everything doesnt make it related to 1984. Thats just like saying "How Dickensian" It doesnt make it true.
@@jaydentownsend5402 🤡🤡🤡
MAGA “Oh no, I dont have a good way to counter his argument, time to send clown emojis“
@@nothingtoseeheremovealong598, hahah, thanks i didnt know how to reply i was just like errrrr.
"You dense clown, I swear to God I will slap you."
Truly, words of wisdom much needed in the modern world.
I lost it at that point, laughed for 2 minutes straight
Especially to liberals
@@RestitutorEuropa true but who asked
@@theArab__ their name is really showing
@@RestitutorEuropa I agree with you, but it's getting quite old.
So Basil was the guy who doesn't have a college degree but has 130+ IQ and playing 4D chess. Always good to see an underdog come up.
Good Will Hunting
Even if the underdog just so happened to be the clinical definition of a sociopath.
@@NA-AN meh, that's just a special ability.
@@NA-AN
That's just one more advantage.
He wasn't an underdog if he has an IQ of 130+, because that's a huge genetic advantage. He didn't earn that IQ - it was given to him by his genes due to sheer luck, and is basically a biological royal title. At least people with college degrees usually earn their advantage through hard work.
You really need to cover Michael II the Amorian.
Dude went from sentenced to be CHAINED TO AN APE AND THROWN INTO A FURNACE to Emperor within a few hours!
On Christmas.
What?
Michael was under sentence of death for conspiring to depose Leo V. Since the sentence was passed Christmas Eve, Leo postponed the execution to the day after.
So Michael managed to fet messages to his co-conspirators, who stormed the Christmas mass the emperor was having, and killed him.
They then went and proclaimed Michael emperor while still in chains.
@@cuttleboi1339 To summarize, Michael was the head of Leo V's palace guards and Leo suspected him of treason. Leo, being the levelheaded guy that he was, decided that Michael needed to be tied up to an ape and then thrown into a furnace so the enraged ape would rip him apart as both burned to death. He wanted to do this during Christmas Mass in the Hagia Sophia.
The Empress didn't object to the execution but she didn't want this insane Dr. Evil plot to put a damper on Christmas. Leo agreed to postpone the execution for one day. So during Mass, Michael's supporters (disguised as monks) attacked Leo- who managed to fend them off for about an hour. Eventually they killed him and hastily crowned Michael as the new Emperor. Nobody could find the key to his shackles so Michael was crowned when he was still in chains.
@@cuttleboi1339 I'll second that, but louder. What?!
That dude was clearly living the life. all i get every Christmas are a bunch of fighting relatives and a hangover. Fml.
Now cover his giga-chad successor, in name only, Basil II.
One of my favorite medieval monarchs
He forgot to have kids though
Micheal III's*
@@jonathanredacted3245
He may not have had kids, but he was certainly the Bulgars’ Daddy
@@warlordofbritannia he still forgot to have a proper heir thus leading to the catastrophy that was manzikert
4:13
everybody gangsta til the Ghost of Diomedes calls you a dense clown and threatens to slap you
"What do you tell a priest with two black eyes?"
The deer was clearly micheal reincarnated by the lizard queen Elizabeth so he could get revenge on his ex lover Basil
I hereby declare it canon
Basil II: "How many eyes does it take to send a message?" Advisors: "Just One"
My favorite Disney Villain
@@Tyleya same
Basil IVX: "I know nathing, I'm from Barcelona"
Mulan
"But if you want to get away with murder you need the authority to call it an execution
."
That, friends, is some quality writing
With the way you described the eagles giving him shade you make him sound like a Disney princess for f**k's sake
Not too many disney princess that blinded 99% of an enemy army
@@insaneweasel1 Wrong Basil. The Gigachad who blinded the enemy army was Basil II or Basil the Bulgar Slayer.
Maybe he is a disney princess
Basil I is like some Tumbler fancharacter that somebody would write, a very Progressive character that is just a Disney Princesses and not an actual character.
Considering how many health issues all of Basil's children shared, I think it's safe to say he was Leo's dad.
Leo is the heir apparent right?
@@blugaledoh2669 yes
It might have been from the mother
@@heathenpride7931 His first (or first two, depending on the source), had a different mother and they both died young.
@@supercell615 well that’s just SIDS. Happened all the time in the old times
Ain't that the dream
First reply
@@victimofchungus2039 last reply
How lovely a history channel commenting on a history channel so beautiful yet so rare
@@zako9396 official last reply
@@seaoggo9574lastest reply
Micheal: “Have you always been this creepy?”
Basel: “dude you were groping my chest when we were horseback riding and you’re calling me creepy”
*Byzantine Emperor Micheal III:* What? I thought you liked that?!
*Basil (soon to be Emperor via murder):* Well...yeah I really loved that! I dunno...I guess I just wanted to deflect the whole accusation of creepiness back on you because that caught me of guard y'know?
Seriously the Byzantine empire is basically Game of Thrones. It's a perfect setting for a period drama.
Byzantine, Roman and Chinese history have literally everything you could ask for. Literally EVERYTHING.
So does England, Scotland, Russia and France, Holy Roman Empire.
@@Brandonhayhew Not to the same extent, though.
@@OmegaTrooper any specific recommendations of real life Shakespearean stories like this?
Bruh why is the animation so smooth and bouncy
"Seducing the Pope wasn`t an option". Not a Borgia, I assume.
Alas, a few centuries too early, otherwise he would've had a field day
Basil I - known for killing his friends
Great-greatgrandson, Basil II - known as the “Bulgar-Slayer”
Real talk, the Makedon dynasty was badass
I would use the words "savage peasants" or "brutes" but yes I suppose
@@brm5844 with a name like that, of course you would.
@@angelopueyygarcia43 lmao
@@angelopueyygarcia43 the murder spree between Bulgarians and rhomei goes both ways , Bulgarians had krum and Kaloyan, with the emporer skull cups, and the byzantines had basil II, at the end of the day it's old medieval fueds and infact Bulgaria and Byzantium enjoyed a prosperous peace for a while.
Basil 1 was also known for beating Bulgarian Wrestlers
The emperor's cousin was in the audience what f**king luck for Basil. The window of opportunity just keeps opening for him doesn't it?
Ain't this the emperor whos life is a mix of Hulk Hogan and a James Bond ? Hes a big wrestler and one of his main enemies is a guy called Chrysocheir (the man with the Golden hand).
Ostensibly he's a gay Hulk Hogan/James Bond
@@Vesperitis I thought he was Bi
The man with the golden haaaand
Lol, the random way major historical figures like Basil die is why history will always be more interesting than fiction.
Real life doesn't have to be believeable
Amen to that.
Exactly, plot twists are RNG based
But History Channel knows only fiction. And aliens
Death is as random and meaningless as life.
As an orthodox Christian all the orthodox scenes with saints made me chuckle, amazing work as always
🎵Hamilton faces an endless uphill climb.
He's got something to prove he has nothing to lose.🎵
Basil Macedonian.
My name is Basil Macedonian
And there's a million things I haven't done
But just you wait, just you wait
Constantinople you can be a new man
@@RainintheBrain He will never be satisfied, I will never be satisfied
I love how uh... Greek... his climb to power is.
It is well established that the Byzantines were the keepers of uh... Classical civilization.
🎵It's Guy Love, that's all it is... 🎵
Forget chaos is a ladder, homosexuality is a ladder or in Basil's case bisexuality.
For Basil, bisexuality was more like an elevator.
@@Vesperitis He got tired of bottoming, wanted to top the entire empire. Vers icon.
Still is today tbh.
I know right?! *XD*
Seriously one of THE most sure fire ways to obtain power and influence is to have sex with the right, powerful or influential people (with some skill and ideal leverage..) and boom, your the emperor and or empress of half the know world. (or more like the fraction of the world that is relevant to the story..)
Lmao. Yeah this guy is a successful Littlefinger
I feel like every single character presented by Jack has a strong "what not to do" notion
Give me that cat
"History is made by stupid people"
He did roll quite some natural 20s in his life.
Are you implying like a third of this guys climb to the imperial throne was being a hot stud and seducing men? Cause thats beautiful
He wasn't a simple hot stud that seduced men, he was a strong af stud that seduced men and women.
Basil ain't be trippin', Basil ain't be slippin'
Until he he got super jealous and cut off his ex lovers hands before he killed him. That’s definitely possessive rage.
In CK3, this guy is the starting emperor for the Byzantines in the earliest start-date.
hmm, thanks for the info
That would be Basil II, the distant successor of Basil I's house. In all probability, Basil II is actually the blood descendant of Michael, not Basil I as he was the grandson of Leo, who was in all likelihood the son of Michael but got swapped to Basil as video shows.
@@aaryeekd.mishra3487 No, Basil I is the Emperor at the 867 start date. Basil II ruled from 976-1025
@@aidanator8008 Yeah, my bad. Confused the 2 lmao.
"Seducing the Pope wasn't an option."
Was it because he was too old for the Pope?
The pope likes it 'fresh'
@@mosesracal6758 from the womb
Omg🤣🤣🤣
Justinian II definitely deserves his own video too. Very ruthless who got exiled but came back for revenge to reclaim the throne.
Can you do the Komnenos saga after this? I tell you, Andronikos is the biggest madlad in Byzantine History. You thought the Angelos was bad enough.
First Jabzy says Basil I is the most Littlefinger ruler he knows and now Jack makes a reference to the Chaos Ladder. Coincidence, I think not!
It's just me or a lot of these videos ends with "...caught a fever and died."
Fevers: History's default anticlimax
Yeah, living at any time before antibiotics (circa 1928) was kind of like that.
*Man,* you're taking me back to 10th grade world history class!
You got to learn about this in 10th grade world history? Jealous!
@@JackRackam Learned about both Basil I and II, actually! Homeschool brings interesting perks sometimes, I guess
In 10th Grade my West Civ class we barely covered Byzantine Empire at all. We learned a ton about Ancient Greece and Rome but Byzantine was like a footnote in comparison.
@@Wallyworld30 For an empire that last so long, that's actually kind of surprising that they'd spend so little time on it-
Yeah, most public education systems don't even acknowledge the Byzantine Empire even existing. At best you get "Yo so Rome fell in 476, and some Greeks did some stuff on the east for a bit."
It's always amazing how many of these historical figures have actual insane lives that you think only fiction can depict but are actually true!
In addition to Justinian II, there are several figures that I hope one day you can narrate about because they all have interesting stories:
* Edgar Etheling: The last Royal of the House of Wessex. Had a very adventurous life after the Norman conquest. He went from Scotland, to Sicily, to even Jerusalem.
* Charles the Bad: King of Navarre who played both sides during the Hundred Years War which caused everyone to hate him. Had a brutal death.
* El Cid: Classic Spanish figure. Well known already but I bought it up cause I want to see you cover the Reconquista.
* Paul I of Russia: Lived under Catherine's shadow and was very paranoid. Got assassinated.
* Vlad the Impaler: The actual "Dracula". He's mainly known nowadays for the inspiration of Dracula but he had a very colorful life. His resistance against the Ottomans and his commitment to become leader of Wallachia.
* Emperor Ai: Han Dynasty ruler during a very rough period who probably had a homosexual affair with a favorite.
* An Lushan: Tang General who started the An Lushan rebellion. Was assassinated in the middle of the rebellion but it would end up potentially killing over 30 million people!
* Pope John XII: He was probably only 18 when he became pope! Had a very scandalous life and was responsible for the Holy Roman Empire. May have died while having sex!
It's fine if you don't have the time to cover them but at the very least I just want to mention them because they are all very interesting.
I know this is silly, but every time I see or hear the name Basil, I automatically think of John Cleese's character in the BBC show Fawlty Towers. Imagining him doing all these things is just very funny. Good video though.
I think this story is a really good illustration of some notable things about Byzantine-era Roman society--first, the fact that there was no formally entrenched class system; there were haves and have-nots, but people rose and fell between them all the time and even the position of emperor was an /office/ rather than something divinely bestowed on a bloodline (now, lots of emperors tried to make it /sound/ like they were divinely appointed, but this was propaganda not really reflected by attitudes on the ground, as you can see by how easily the populace would get grumpy with their ostensible rulers). Secondly, that their views on gender and sexuality were an interesting mix of classical Greco-Roman and medieval Christian, leading to a fairly lax attitude to men loving men, like..."ehh, I guess you're technically not supposed to do that but whatever, man, slap on the wrist, carry on"; in quite stark contrast to some of their more restrictive contemporary European societies.
"Egypt, Africa and the Levant were gone like a freight train, gone like yesterday." Also gone like a Soldier in the Civil War, bang bang. Love when country music references pop up from seemingly nowhere.
"Seducing the Pope wasn't an option."
*Laughs in Borgia*
*Laughs in John XII*
*Laughs*
It all depends on the Pope, and unfortunately Basil didn't get lucky
The number of stories that end with "he caught a fever and died" is actually a little alarming...
Well it was olden times a fever was basically a death sentence back then
The legends of the Imperial Eastern Rome has prolonged the Life & Times into a story arc
I first heard of Basil in the 48 laws of power. The story written in that book was that Basil saved Michael's life while working in the stables and then got showered with gifts and prestige. Not sure if it's true, but the moral of that section of the book was not to rely on friends as they will eventually resent and betray you. Give them favors and instead of being grateful they will become insatiable.
Michael feels threatened.
Bardas feels threatened because he knows Michael feels threatened.
Michael feels threatened because he knows Bardas feels threatened because he knows Michael feels threatened.
Fun fact Harry Turtledove wrote a trilogy of fantasy novels based on the life of basi, it's literally just the life of basil with names changed around .
Are they any good?
I enjoyed them
@@1Ring42
He's not much known as a Byzantinist but he seems to have been pretty well informed.
Now do Basil II, all around badass and wielder of one of the coolest nicknames in history. Pretty please!
Dude i love how you’re covering Byzantine rulers n late rome in general
Basil walks in to any room
No One: X is gonna lovvvve you
0:12
i can imagine how trippy it would be for someone named Janet who’s watching this...
I love how we all collectively ignore that the intro is a coke trip, because these videos are SO GOOD
you should do a video on "weird emperor deaths"
Basil I is a doozy, and personally, my favorite
867 is such a fun start date.
You managed to include byzantine history and Rumours by Fleetwood Mac in one video. Thank you, my day is saved
It was either that or Rumors by Neil Simon - happy to see we made the right call!
The Basil II video is going to be amazing (if/when you eventually get to Basil II) if these other videos on the dynasty have been anything to go by.
Wasn't basil like, a wrestler that went from wrestler to emperor's bodyguard to emperor's bff and then killed the emperor and became the emperor?
Ah nothing better than a Jack Rackam video to suffocate my responsibilities.
How in the name of Jupiter are you not decased?
"Be sexy become emperor" mission failed we'll get'em next time
Basil is literally an overpowered CKIII character
I guess you could say that Michael’s dynasty might not have actually ended yet if Basil’s son was actually his.
1:26, did not expect a Montgomery Gentry reference there, A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one
You gotta do crazy things for the hustle, sometimes
King Robert Barratheon: gets killed by a wild boar.
Basil: hold my deer call.
12:15
Me as a CK2 player: challenge FUCKING *ACCEPTED!*
1:25... That reference to Montgomery Gentry made me jump out of my seat like "ah yes, a man of culture"
This might be your best episode yet
Granted I say that after every new video
I'm pretty happy with it 😁
Imagine being Jaime Lannister and Littlefinger at the same time.
Me watching this knowing well what happens: "Don't kill the gay guy!!"
They're Roman. They are always Bisexual dont worry
That Rocky Horror Picture show reference made my day.
0:13
Let’s just come out and say it: Jack is implying that everyone in the Eastern Roman Empire had “Greek love”
I am indeed insinuating that gay/bi people existed in the middle ages, and that if anyone was gay it was most likely the people who had formally officiated relationships, spent lots of time together, and shared a bed despite being wealthy enough to afford their own. It's possible they were straight, but if you hear hooves, think of horses before zebras
@@JackRackam As a queer person, i love this clapback of yours.
@@SylviaRustyFaewhat does queer even mean?
@@Ghost-tv1yg It means many things. I use it personally bcuz it describes so accurately my existence as being queer, that is; odd, weird, not the usual, extraordinary even in the sense of beyond ordinary.
Im personally trans and nonconformin and intersex and Asexual/Aromantic while also fluid along both gender lines and interest lines so that some days i feel sapphic or lesbian and other days more pan and some days even venusic or some other spec microlabel. Im also neurodivergent (my brain works differently cuz of disabilities) and that plays into it all... Which all combines to make me feel like the single label that most fully describes me is queer.
Queer is a very large umbrella term tho that can be used by any member of the LGBTIQA+ community; and its often a way of someone saying "Im not a conforming gay; im gonna exist as i want to", as opposed to some others virws held by folks that wud nvr use the term queer who believe gays, as they will often call the whole LGBTIQA+ community, shud try to assimilate and be as alike to the cishet (aka straight nontrans folks) as possible in order to get metaphorical headpats and rewards for being obediently gay instd of loudly an nonconformingly queer.
@@SylviaRustyFae I see
The author Harry Turtledove heavily based his Krispos cycle off this. He was a Byzantine scholar before becoming a writer. It's a good set of books set in his Videssos universe which is a mirror of Byzantium but in a world with some magic.
Oh my God, I'm reading the summary and it's beat-for-beat Basil's life
@@JackRackamIKR! That's what I was thinking watching the vid. If you check out the Videssos universe you see that Turtledove is a major Byzantium fanboy. He also been credited with translating a 9th or 10th century Byzantine epic.
I am a simple man. I seee Jack Rackam video, I click it and like it ASAP.
Did he enter into a second officiated Bromance with that rich widow's son too?
Finally on the episode of the history of Byzantium podcast where they introduce Basil but needed to rewatch this first
Imagine going from the boytoy of a local governor to one of the greatest Byzantine emperors. One hell of a climb.
There are a lot of Greek implications with this
"if you want to get away with murder, you need the authority to call it an execution" 🤘
This was so fun to watch I love history just boring documentaries. So mad w RUclips I watch history all the time how did I just NOW find this channel. Great love this thank u
Yay! I suggested Basil's wife swapping adventure a while back and you listened!
A Ylvis reference that is NOT "The Fox"? Amazing.
("Massachusetts" is a great song btw, IMO even better. Also check out "Stonehenge" and "Jan Egeland")
I think a better title would've been "the peasant that seduced his way to to emperor"
When the intro has a RHPS reference in it, its guaranteed to be a good episode
I hope to god you’re gonna make a video about the austrian mexican emperor maximilian.
i did not expect to hear a rocky horror show reference in a video about a hot guy from byzantines killing everyone around him. suits the theme surprisingly well
So the guy who spent his adult life “befriending” important men and because of it is able to climb the social ladder gets his pants caught on a deers antlers and gets dragged 15 miles? There’s something deeply ironic about that.
Basil I of Makedon is the best character to restore the Roman Empire in CK2
He wasn't from macedon ,macedon was an ancient greek kingdom ,basil was nicknamed the Macedonian because he came from the theme of Macedonia which was in thrace
Is someone keeping track on how many persons "caught a fever and die"?
Before the invention of antibiotics (circa 1928) it was like that. You were only ever one bacterial infection away from dying.
So basically, what your saying is; Basil was playing CK3?
The way he died was the most medival shit I ever heard
We need Basil the Bulgar Slayer next
I already loved your channel Jack, then you started throwing in Rocky Horror references, A++.
Wait a minute..... so the entire Macedonian line under Basil I, may not even be his descendants at all. They were Michael's! That means one of the greatest Byzantine emperors in Basil II the Bulgar Slayer was actually a potential descendent of Michael
I feel like Basil would have done amazing at a black jack table with all the luck he had.
Τhe whole story about the dreams and many other "things" about his life was most likely his grandson Constantine the 7th Porpherogenitus' fabrications in order to legitimise his family's rule in the eyes of the Roman citizens. He wrote whole book mainly about the "prophetic" dreams.
Did you just do a Rocky Horror call back joke? Damn it, Janet. You did do a Rocky Horror call back joke. #blessed
Basit lost his Plot Armor near the end
Is there anyone else in history that has an entire dynasty named after him when none of the dynasty are not actually related to him?
I'd love a video on Charlemagne. We've all heard of him but I'm sure there are things I don't know
With all due respect, your videos are incredible as usual - but the (*chalkboard) animations are moving too quick, like seriously chill bro 😅💯
If you think Basil I's rise to power was interesting, you should check out how Michael II The Amorian became emperor. It would make Austin Powers proud. Although if you were to make a full video about it, I would actually recommend focusing on the guy that Michael II replaced (Leo V The Armenian) because Leo V is actually a more ridiculous figure overall. But the story of how Michael II overthrew Leo V is hilarious. If Michael II was Austin Powers, then Leo V was Dr. Evil. The entire reign of Leo V was just him being too clever for his own good.
Assassins mistook the priest for Leo and proclaimed Michael emperor while in leg irons, brilliant 😆
@@JackRackam Leo was planning to chain Michael to an ape and have the ape kill him. But he delayed the execution until after Christmas which allowed Michael the chance to escape and assassinate Leo.
@@tacocruiser4238 Oh he's the ape guy!
@@JackRackam an ape with a freaking laser attached to it's head! (jk)